


Death Doesn't Let You Say Goodbye

by LunaDelVille



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And so is everyone else, Angst, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Gen, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Tony Stark, So much angst, Steve regrets, and Peter is having none of it, grap your kleenex, peter parker is miserable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 12:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11943957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaDelVille/pseuds/LunaDelVille
Summary: As I said in the tags, this is angst. Pure angst. I won't even say there's fluff in here because I'd be lying. So please, move forward at your own risk. This work will depict the aftermath of Tony's death under the point of view of five people: Steve, Pepper, Peter, Bruce, and Rhodes.  I don't know anything about Infinity War if I got anything right it will be only a very weird coincidence.Any insight and comments would be very much appreciated. English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes.In case you guys don't know, Requiem is a pray in honor to the dead.





	Death Doesn't Let You Say Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the tags, this is angst. Pure angst. I won't even say there's fluff in here because I'd be lying. So please, move forward at your own risk. This work will depict the aftermath of Tony's death under the point of view of five people: Steve, Pepper, Peter, Bruce, and Rhodes. I don't know anything about Infinity War if I got anything right it will be only a very weird coincidence.  
> Any insight and comments would be very much appreciated. English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes.   
> In case you guys don't know, Requiem is a pray in honor to the dead.

The dust was settling through the air, his eyes were burning and around him all he could see was destruction. Buildings collapsed to the ground, children were wounded and lost, the sight of blood and death was everywhere, and he couldn't help but feel his knees become weaker with the sight.  
He could hear the screams, the crying... And yet, when his eyes focused on the ground, he saw a small figure - painted in blue and red - clutching another one in a suit of iron.

\---

James Rhodes knew Tony for what it felt like a lifetime. They bonded quite quickly, even with all the odds against them both, and forged a friendship that later on became a brotherhood. Before Afghanistan, Tony was another man... More shallow, and also miserable. He had everything one could possibly desire - one of the biggest companies in the world, beautiful women, an amazing house with amazing cars... And yet, sometimes Rhodes would catch a glimpse of something in the other one's eye, the glimpse of someone who was too broken to be fixed. And James tried, God only knows how many times he tried to help him, with no avail.

\---

Hero’s rise.

James saw it himself. He saw the man that was once known as selfish and entitled rise from the ashes.

He witnessed his best friend build himself up - armor and all - from the ground, more than once. He saw, with the sense of pride and hope, someone that reached rock bottom climb up. From the embers and ashes, he saw Tony offer everything he had as retribution for his past errors.

He saw his best friend - his brother - fly a nuke into a portal to save people’s lives. And in that moment, Rhodes thought he lost him forever. He waited, for what it felt like forever - for him to come back. For him to come home. Because although Tony didn’t believe it, he would be terribly missed. And the seconds felt like hours, stretching slowly, making Rhodes ask for whatever force was out there to let his friend come back just this one time. 

And he did.

\---

Heroes fall.

Some crappy person said. One of those best-seller authors that probably loved to impose misery on his poor readers. Rhodes would kick this guy ass if he nearby right now. Because it was wrong, it was all wrong!

Tony was not doing well. He was constantly on the edge, afraid of everything around him, always locking himself in the lab as much as he could. But Rhodes noticed... He saw the edges in his friend’s eyes, saw the sharpness around it - the man’s eyes, a constant reminder of everything he’s been through., and once again, he felt like a terrible friend, because nothing he did would ease the pain his friend felt.

He saw when he came back from Siberia, bruised and beaten, appearing just a shadow of the man he used to be. And Rhodes never hated anyone as much as he hated Steve Rogers, who left the man he said he loved to die in the cold. 

\---

Heroes endure.

Tony survived more than many could handle. Kidnap, torture, betrayal, pain, lies... He was beaten up by life - and Rhodes thought, not only once, that he’d lose his best friend. Tony survived the pain of betrayal more than once, he saw someone he trusted - loved - dealy lie does him, for God’ knows how long. He lived through the terrible symptoms of his PTSD and depression, those who still haunted him.

Yet, Rhodes wasn’t sure if his friend was just surviving instead of leaving. Because everyone went way... He was succumbing under the memories - of a man with cold eyes killing his parents - he was giving in. His struggle was so vivid and strong, and Rhodes knew nothing would ever be the same.

Time went by, Tony got better. Maybe the Spider-kid had something to do with it, but he wasn’t complaining. With Tony, he learned that the road to hurt and to forgive was the same, open in a bifurcation, and that is their choice which path they’d take. Unsurprisingly, his friend would always forgive.

Things were normal again, Tony was starting act like more himself - and Rhodes knew that Peter had a huge influence in this -. When he saw both of them bonding over science or just watching Discory Chanel on TV just to point out inaccuracies of the show, he felt a part of himself laugh of it all. This? This is what Steve could have if it wasn’t for his own actions.

He made his own bed, now he had to lay in it.

He watched his best friend overcome all the odds yet again, he saw him survive.

\---

Tony was the kind of man that would never stop fighting. Even when all odds were against him, even when every since felt out of place, he’d find a way to fight. So that was why that situation was wrong. It was all wrong. Because his best friend was lying still, emotionless. And it’s just not right.

It was a small gathering, Happy was the right side trying to pretend to be okay while Pepper stared at the oaks that were around the casket. Vision was right beside her, clearly unaware of the heaviness of the moment. Thor was holding down his hammer, muttering something under his breath.

Wanda was standing at the side of a tree, her eyes away from the ceremony, and Rhodes had the eerily feeling her eyes were glowing red. Natasha wasn’t there. Neither she’d ever come. And Clint... He was nowhere to be found - he went out of the grid after the demise of his only friend -.

When Steve showed up - eyes red and tear stained - Rhodes wished he’d just leave. Tony might have been forgiving, but he wasn’t. One by one, people started to arrive. 

Nothing felt right.

Tony was a fighter. He survived a portal, survived torture and heartbreak... It wasn’t fair. Rhodes caught himself wishing for his brother to open his eyes, for him to do something... Anything. Because now the pain was creeping into his heart, his ribs and he, unlike his friend, had no idea how to fight that of all things.

“We are here today to mourn the loss of a great man...” Thor started, clearly having trouble to read the card he made: “He... Died saving his friends and family” the God kept going, the voice thick and lacking its usual joy. “Father used to say that death is nothing but a door towards a better place” the blog stopped mid sentence. “And... Tony was a great man and a rightful hero - he had his flaws, as we all do - but he was the hero we all deserved. “I hope that your world remembers Tony Stark as the man, however... And not only as the hero”.

\---

Rhodey couldn’t find Peter anywhere. After Tony’s death, the boy went completely missing. His eyes torn and broken beyond repair. Rhodey would never forget those eyes, once filled with joy, were now shattered.

Every day felt like a shadow through his eyes... And everything around him was empty, motionless. Tony would usually be chatting about one of his projects, of telling Dummy to be on fire duty only to scold the robot after. Rhodes felt his eyes itch with the memories... Memories of the two of them bickering about something or watching one of those stupid shows his friend liked... What he wouldn’t give to have one more chance to do just that.

It was like a book with missing pages, an incomplete story that wouldn’t have an end. Sometimes, when Rhodes was feeling masochist, he’d wonder... Wonder how differents could’ve been. He’d picture Steve and Tony at the couch, discussing who could have the remote. He’d see Tony with Bruce and Peter at the lab, the three of them being their usual nerds and dorks... He’d imagine Pepper chastising him for something he did wrong. Then he’d see Steve proposing, the both of them finding a more secluded house somewhere... He’d picture Mrs. Parker showing up once in a while, with her lasagna that all of them had to pretend to love... He’d imagine Tony at Peter’s Decathlon match, supporting one that bright, amazing boy alongside with May, Bruce, and Steve. He’d see Natasha - once again full of life and sharp tong - teaching the little Spider to fight... And everything would be perfect.

But life wasn’t made of dreams. It was sharp, had its thorns and edges, it cut deep, and left marks that Rhodey could never forget. That longing, that despair... Now they all were part of his life. 

There would be no tomorrow for that story... No ending for that book.


End file.
